


Moments

by thegirl20



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F, Ficlet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2012-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 20:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegirl20/pseuds/thegirl20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of ficlets about Maura and Jane.  Unrelated to each other, mostly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vieni qui

“She’s hard to get to know.”  
  
“Oh, I think I got a pretty good idea.”  
  
Watching Maura walk away, Jane Rizzoli’s heart sank. She caught her mother’s eye and gestured to the door. Angela, for once in her life, understood what was being subtly hinted at.  
  
“Wow. I’m...uh...I’m a little faggoty myself,” she said, stretching and faking an enormous yawn.   
  
“Fatiguée,” Maura corrected, without looking up from the counter she was wiping.  
  
“Yeah, I’m real fatiguée,” Angela agreed. “I’m gonna turn in for the night if you girls can handle the clean up.”  
  
“We got it, Ma,” Jane said, rolling her eyes a little at her mother’s over the top acting, but smiling.  
  
Angela got up and padded around to where Jane was sitting. “Time to be the perfect girlfriend,” she whispered, before kissing the top of Jane’s head. “Don’t screw it up.”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Ma.” But she caught her mother’s hand and squeezed it gently. It wasn’t often that Jane was truly thankful to have Angela as a mother, but tonight was one of those rare occasions. Angela winked at her and headed for the door, but paused and moved into the kitchen. She put a hand on Maura’s arm to stop the compulsive cleaning and waited for her to look up.  
  
“Thanks for tonight, Maura, and today. I really had fun learning to make croissants with you.”  
  
A slow smile spread across Maura’s face and she nodded.  
  
“I had fun too,” she said, her voice small, breaking Jane’s heart just a little more.  
  
“We should do it more often,” Angela continued. “Maybe you can teach me the pear dessert thing next? Or I can show you how to make my grandma’s gnocchi.”  
  
Jane nearly choked on her wine. Angela Rizzoli did not offer to share family recipes lightly.  
  
“I would love that, Angela,” Maura was saying, her eyes shining with tears. “Truly, I would. Perhaps we can do it one evening this week?”  
  
“It’s a date,” Angela said, leaning in to press a kiss to Maura’s cheek. “Goodnight, sweetie.”  
  
“Goodnight Angela,” Maura whispered. “Thank you.”  
  
“You don’t need to thank family, honey,” Angela said as she let herself out. “You two behave now.”  
  
And she was gone, leaving a silence that was anything but comfortable. Jane stood up and walked to where Maura stood, still looking at the door Angela had left through.  
  
Jane leaned one hip against the counter and reached out to brush a strand of hair away from Maura’s eye, finally gaining her attention.  
  
“Hey.” She tilted her head and offered a lopsided smile, which was returned, a little sadly.  
  
“Hey.”  
  
And without another word, Maura walked forward, into Jane’s body, curling around her. Jane wrapped her arms tightly around the shorter woman, swaying them both back and forth.   
  
“I’m sorry she was rude,” Maura murmured into Jane’s shoulder.  
  
“Don’t apologise for her,” Jane shot back, immediately.  
  
Maura pulled away a little and looked up at Jane in puzzlement.  
  
“But...you apologise for your mother all the time,” she said. “Often when there’s no need.”  
  
She had her there. “That’s...different.”  
  
“How?”  
  
“Because Ma is Ma and your mom is...different.”  
  
Maura sighed and pressed her face back into the crook of Jane’s neck. “I’m so-“  
  
“Stop.” Gently, Jane pushed Maura away a little. “Now, the way I see it is this; we thought we had to sit through some formal dinner with our parents that was stressing you out, but instead we got an evening to ourselves, with the bonus of this fancy dessert you made.” She held up her fingers and counted off on them. “You. Me. Dessert. Alone.” She grinned at Maura. “I’m not seeing the downside. So lets take your Helen Keller Pear thingies and eat ‘em on the couch while we watch something trashy on TV.”  
  
“Poires Belle-Hélène.” Maura said, with a smile. It faded quickly. “Jane, if I made you think that an evening with just you made me feel sad, then I’m so-“  
  
“Maura, honey,” Jane started, taking Maura by the shoulders. “I  _know_ why you’re sad. You’re sad because your mom left when you expected her to stay. I’m...not great at being comforting and nurturing and stuff. When I want comfort, usually I want you, chocolate and somewhere comfy to cuddle. So that’s what I was going for in my ‘avoiding talking about the awkward family situation’ way.”  
  
She cupped Maura’s cheek. “But if you want to talk about the awkward family situation, then I am all ears.” Maura opened her mouth, but Jane cut her off. “And I am well aware that ‘all ears’ is an inaccurate description. But if you want to talk, I will listen. And if you want me to slash the tyres on your mom’s car, I will slash them.”  
  
Maura swiped ineffectually at Jane’s arm, laughing softly.  
  
“No slashing necessary,” she said, wrapping her arms around Jane’s torso again and looking up at her. “I think cuddling sounds nicer than talking at the moment. And chocolate also sounds pleasant.” She glanced over at the table, still set for a formal dinner. “But we have to clean up first.”  
  
Jane shook her head. “It can wait until later. Or until the morning.”  
  
Maura’s eyes widened in panic.  
  
“Okay, okay, later,” Jane backpedalled. “I’ll do it later.” She smacked Maura’s ass softly. “Go sit down, I’ll get the Pears Mount St. Helens.”  
  
“Jane,” Maura chided. “You  _know_  that’s not what it’s called.”  
  
“I know, I know,” Jane conceded. “But French just sounds silly with my accent.”  
  
“You could say it in Italian?” Maura suggested with a smile and Jane rolled her eyes. She knew that Maura had a thing for her speaking Italian. She sighed and thought for a moment. Then, lifting the tray of desserts with a flourish, she grinned as she headed to where Maura was seated on the couch.  
  
“E stasera, per ti fa piacere, abbiamo le pere della bella Helena.” She placed the tray on the coffee table. “Non conosco questa ‘Helena’, ma non è possibile che lei sia più bella di te. Perché tu sei la donna più bella del mond-mmph.”  
  
Her lips were pressed against Maura’s before she could even finish speaking and she was being pulled down on top of the smaller woman. To people who didn’t know her well, Maura might seem demure. Jane knew differently. Maura was an incredibly passionate woman and had very few qualms about demonstrating that passion at every given opportunity. Jane briefly considered stopping, because Maura had seemed very upset about her mother and it felt a little like taking advantage of her in a vulnerable state. She even went so far as to withdraw from the heated kiss. The look in Maura’s eyes made her breath catch in her throat.  
  
“Vieni qui,” Maura growled, yanking Jane back down.  
  
Then she popped the button on Jane’s pants and all thoughts of stopping disappeared.


	2. But I can try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation after sex.

They lay together, tangled in Jane’s sheets, panting.   
  
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”  
  
“Jane!” Maura said, slapping the detective’s thigh. “What would your mother say if she heard you use those names to express sexual gratification?”  
  
“I...hope my mother  _never_  hears me express sexual gratification and therefore I  _never_  find out what she’d say.”  
  
She felt Maura smile against her chest. “I hope so too. While I don’t mind discussing sex in the abstract with your mother, I try to avoid the specifics of our lovemaking.”  
  
“Good,” Jane was still languid and dopey, so Maura’s words took a few seconds to register. “Wait. You  _try_  to av-...Maura, why are you talking about sex with my mother, at  _all_?”  
  
Maura shrugged against her. “Sometimes she has questions. She’s just curious Jane, I’m sure it’ll wear off eventually.”  
  
“She has  _questions_?” Jane squeaked. “She’s a fiftysomething year old woman. Surely she’s figured out what goes where by now?”  
  
Maura lifted her head to smile affectionately at her lover.  
  
“Jane, she has questions about what  _women_  do with each other. It’s quite sweet really. Be grateful that she takes such an interest in your life.”  
  
“Not my  _sex_  life, Maura!” Jane was appalled. “That’s...that’s too much. That’s not right.”  
  
“It’s perfectly healthy to discuss sex, Jane. It’s a natural human need, a very basic one in fact. Maslow placed it alongside food and shel-“  
  
“Babe, please don’t make sex all sciencey again. You know it weirds me out. “  
  
“But Jane, sex  _is_  science. Reproduction is a biologi-“  
  
“Maura, what we just did had nothing to do with reproduction.”  
  
“Well, though it would not result in conception, we did it because it made us feel good and we hoped to achieve orgasm, which is a chemical reward our body grants us to make reproduction an attractive propos-”  
  
“Maura, I like sex. It’s fun. I like you. A lot. I like having sex with you. Let’s leave it at that, huh?”  
  
Maura smiled. “You like me a lot?” Her tone was teasing, but Jane knew she needed to hear it.  
  
“I love you, you gigantic goofball,” Jane murmured, pressing her lips against Maura’s forehead. “And as much as I like having sex with you, sometimes I think I maybe like this even more...”  
  
She glanced down at their bodies, moulded against each other, fitting perfectly. Maura wiggled her hips, pushing herself even closer  
  
“The desire to be close after sex relates to the need for protection and safety while the egg and th-“  
  
“I thought we just agreed to the no science talk thing?” Jane’s voice was the kind of mock stern that she knew Maura now recognised as teasing. It had taken a little while for them to get there, resulting in some tears and hurt feelings along the way.  
  
Maura’s eyebrows were drawn together, scrunching her brow up in thought. “I don’t recall agreeing to any such thing.”   
  
“Well...you didn’t, but I kinda hoped that telling you how much I love you would distract you from it.”  
  
A smile broke over Maura’s face and she leaned up to drop a sweet kiss on Jane’s cheek.   
  
“Let’s compromise.” Jane almost sighed, because Maura was using the voice that Jane knew would result in her agreeing to whatever this ‘compromise’ was. “I will agree not to discuss the biological imperatives behind sexual intercourse...” Maura’s hand rubbed soothing circles on Jane’s abdomen. “...and the chemicals released during the act...” She let her fingers skirt over the scar tissue at Jane’s side. “...as long as you agree that it’s okay for me to continue answering your mother’s questions.”  
  
Jane considered the offer. The thought of Angela and Maura discussing any kind of sex was disturbing in the extreme, but perhaps it was worth it to keep Maura’s pillow talk away from the more scientific aspects of what it meant that Jane liked to snuggle after sex.  
  
“Fine. You can answer my Ma’s nosey questions. As long as I’m not anywhere near either of you when you do it.”  
  
“Oh, but Jane...” Maura was downright sultry now, her pout so honed that Jane was convinced that she had made it a point to study how the perfect pout was composed during her micro-expression work. “I  _like_  being near you.”  
  
Jane grinned and shifted her weight so that she was lying on top of a prone Maura. “Oh yeah? Well, I’m not sure you could  _get_  much nearer right now.”   
  
Maura kissed her chin. “But I can try.”


	3. Tall. Strong. Good bone structure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'What if I had someone here?' Well? What if she did? Set during 2.08.

A loud knock woke Jane Rizzoli out of what must have been quite a sound sleep. Maura was stirring against her side, turning towards the direction of the noise. From the wide-eyed, confused look on her face, Jane guessed that she had _also_  fallen asleep during whichever fancy French film she’d chosen for them to watch.   
  
“Who the hell is that?” Jane asked, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.  
  
Maura started to stand up, rubbing the side of her eye, delicately. “I don’t know, Jane, why don’t we answer it and find out?”  
  
Jane caught her arm and pulled her back down onto the couch.  
  
“I’ll see who it is.  _I’m_  the one with the gun.”  
  
“You’re not wearing your gun,” Maura protested, already snuggling into the warm indentation Jane had left as she stood and headed to the door.  
  
“But I  _could_  be,” Jane said as she opened the door to find a man she didn’t recognise.  
  
“Can I help you?” she asked.  
  
He looked surprised to see her and attempted to look over her shoulder. “I’m sorry...I was looking for Maura Isles?” he said in an Australian accent.  
  
“Ian?”  
  
Jane turned to find Maura approaching with a huge smile on her face. Sensing she was about to be trampled, she stood aside just as Maura threw herself into the man’s arms and he lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. Jane watched the interaction closely. And she decided that whoever this guy was, she didn’t like him. He put Maura back on her feet, but she continued to hang onto him.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she asked, still grinning.  
  
“Because I never know when I am,” the guy, Ian Jane supposed his name was, said, as if he were some kind of international man of mystery. His eyes finally flicked back to her and she raised an eyebrow at him. He stepped away from Maura. Not far enough away for Jane’s liking.  
  
“I...should’ve called, I didn’t think you’d have company this late.”  
  
“So you thought you’d give her some?” Jane asked, immediately defensive.  
  
“Oh, sorry! Where are my manners?” Maura finally stepped out of the hulking Antipodean’s grasp. She moved closer to Jane, placing a hand at the small of her back. “Ian, this is Jane. And she’s not company...she’s my partner. Jane, this is Ian. We were in Médecins Sans Frontières together, in Africa.”  
  
Jane glanced at Maura and found that she was wearing a bright smile as she looked between the two of them, it faded slightly when neither of them said anything. Ian rectified that.  
  
“Oh...I...nice to meet you, Jane,” Ian said, extending his hand to Jane. She grasped it and shook it firmly.  
  
“You too...Ian,” Jane said, offering him her best fake smile.   
  
“Come in, Ian.” Maura tugged on his forearm. “Would you like something to drink?”  
  
Ian shifted, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
“Uh...I don’t...it’s late and I should probably go and check into a hotel.”  
  
Jane’s jaw clenched, her teeth grinding together almost painfully. This guy, who she’d never heard anything about, had planned to  _spend the night_  with Maura. With  _her_  Maura.  
  
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Maura said, seemingly oblivious to Jane’s unease. “There’s...well, Jane’s mother is staying in the guest house right now, but I have spare rooms and...”  
  
“No, really, I should go. I’ll call you. We should meet for a drink.” He glanced at Jane and then back to Maura. “The three of us, I mean.”  
  
“Well, that sounds delightful,” Jane said, wrapping an arm firmly around Maura’s waist. “We’ll look forward to your call, Ian.”  
  
Maura frowned at the tone Jane had used, but made no attempt to move out of her embrace.  
  
“I...yes, perhaps it would be best if we met later in the week. We have so much to catch up on,” Maura said, with a smile.  
  
“So I see,” Ian said, his voice tinged with something that Jane didn’t like at all. He moved forward to kiss Maura’s cheek. “I’ll call you. Goodnight, Maura.”  
  
“Goodnight Ian.”  
  
“It was good to meet you, Jane. I hope we can get to know each other better,” Ian said, turning his attention to the taller woman.  
  
“Oh, me too,” Jane said, the words dripping with false enthusiasm.  
  
“Right, well, enjoy the rest of your evening.” He turned to leave and the women watched him walk back to a hire car and drive away. Jane let go of Maura and walked back to the couch, picking up a copy of National Geographic that Maura had been perusing earlier. She flicked through the pages, clearly not reading. Maura closed the door and leaned back against it with a sigh.  
  
“You’re upset.”   
  
“Well done. Gold star.” Jane continued to flick through the magazine, almost tearing the pages with the ferocity of her movements.  
  
“Are you going to tell me why?” Maura asked, approaching the couch slowly.  
  
“Isn’t it obvious?”Jane spat.   
  
Jane watched as Maura thought back, probably sifting through the evening for evidence.   
  
“Well, you seemed perfectly content before Ian came to the door, so it would appear that his visit is the source of your upset.”  
  
“His ‘visit’, Maura?” Jane finally put down the magazine. “His booty call, more like.”  
  
Sometimes it was literally like a lightbulb had gone on above Maura’s head. Her face lit up, as if she’d only just realised what was causing Jane’s mood.  
  
“Oh! You’re upset because Ian came here expecting that we would sleep together!”   
  
“Yes, Maura. That is why I’m upset. It may surprise you to learn that I’m  _not_  a fan of random men I’ve never heard of turning up and expecting sexual favours from my significant other.”  
  
“But Jane, it’s not Ian’s fault. Until now, every other time he’s visited that has been the practice. It’s not surprising that he should have come to expect it.”  
  
Jane’s mouth fell open.   
  
“I’m going to bed.” Jane stood and walked out of the room.  
  
They didn’t do this; they didn’t go to bed mad at each other. And, Jane thought, Maura Isles better be hot on her heels to make damn sure that this was no exception.   
  
***  
  
Marching into the bedroom, Maura observed a lump under the covers on Jane’s side of the bed. She walked over and turned on the bedside lamp, sitting down so that her hip was pressed against some part of Jane; it was difficult to tell which position she was lying in. Jane huffed and pulled a pillow over her head, Maura pulled it right back off again. Jane glared up at her.  
  
“I’m  _trying_  to sleep.”  
  
“No, you’re  _trying_  to ignore me. And I’m not letting you. So you can either lie there and we can talk, or you can get up and we can talk. The choice is yours, but we’re going to talk.”  
  
“And what if I don’t want to talk?”  
  
“Then you’ll listen. Because I, for one, am not about to allow a silly misunderstanding on  _someone else’s_  part give me a sleepless night worrying about the state of my relationship.”  
  
“Maura,” Jane whined. “Don’t guilt trip me. I’m the one who just witnessed you throwing yourself at some random guy on the doorstep.”  
  
She attempted to turn over, but Maura climbed on top of her so that she was straddling Jane’s hips, preventing her from moving. Jane looked up at her incredulously.   
  
“Really, Maura? You’re resorting to restraint already?”  
  
“I did not throw myself at him,” Maura protested, ignoring Jane’s jibe. Maura knew several ways of incapacitating a person with very little effort if she needed to. “I greeted a friend I haven’t’ seen in a long time. And he’s not some random guy. Before I met you, I would probably have described him as the love of my life.”  
  
Jane shook her head. “Is this your attempt at making things  _better_?”  
  
“Yes,” Maura nodded. “Because I wouldn’t describe him as that any longer. And since meeting you I’ve realised that what I felt for him was something else entirely. It was infatuation at best. It was the romance of having someone who was forbidden...unattainable.”  
  
It was true, Ian had been a big, strong man who she had fun with for a while. But their relationship was elevated to something beyond reality by the fact that they had to part. Everything seemed so terribly tragic and romantic that Maura had been convinced that Ian was her soulmate. That was until she encountered a brash, loud, entirely unconventional Boston detective.  
  
“So you want me because I’m easy?” Jane asked, an eyebrow raised. “Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special.”  
  
“You’re being deliberately obtuse, Jane,” Maura scolded. “I want you because you’re  _you_. And you know what? If you moved to Africa tomorrow, I would be on that plane with you in a second.  _That’s_  the difference. You would  _always_  be attainable. Because I would do everything in my power to make sure we were together.”  
  
Jane’s face softened as Maura spoke, but she kept her pout in place.  
  
“Well...I...still,” she paused, her hands finding Maura’s hips and squeezing. “Jeez, Maur, you make it really hard to stay mad at you when you say stuff like that.”  
  
“There was no reason for you to be ‘ _mad_ ’ at me in the first place, Jane,” Maura said. “It wasn’t my fault that Ian turned up and expected me to have sex with him.”  
  
“You could’ve  _told_  him that you were in a relationship,” Jane pushed, but her tone and her eyes were soft and Maura knew that she’d finally gotten through to her.   
  
“Have you contacted all of your previous lovers to inform them of our relationship?” Maura asked.  
  
“Well...no, but none of them are likely to turn up at my door in the middle of the night demanding sex.”  
  
“It’s not the middle of the night and no demands were made,” Maura said. “But that aside, what about Agent Dean?”  
  
Maura couldn’t help the distaste in her voice when she spoke his name. She didn’t like to be petty, but sometimes she couldn’t help it.   
  
Jane frowned. “What about him? And, for the record, he is  _not_  one of my previous  _lovers_.”   
  
Maura tsked as Jane mimicked her voice on the last word.   
  
“No, but if he turns up at work again, and flirts with you and gives you those looks that he always gives you, would I be entitled to get mad at you?”  
  
Jane frowned. “Uh...”  
  
“And what happens when Lieutenant Grant returns from Washington?” Maura carried on. “Is it not within the realm of possibility that he might harbour expectations about your relationship with him?”  
  
“I...guess...”  
  
“And if either of those situations ever present themselves, I trust that you will inform the gentleman in question of the change in your circumstances and that will be the end of it.”  
  
“Of  _course_  I would!” Jane said.  
  
“And is that not exactly what happened here tonight? An old boyfriend of mine showed up and hoped that we might pick up from where we left off, but I immediately told him about you and that was that.” Maura poked Jane’s ribs. “And then you got all cranky with me and went to bed.”  
  
“I...” Jane sighed. “Okay, that’s pretty much what happened.”  
  
Maura grinned in triumph. “Of course it is. Now...how are you going to make it up to me?”  
  
Jane hid a smile behind an exaggerated sigh. She slid her hands around to Maura’s back, sitting up and forcing Maura to shuffle down until she was sitting in her lap, their noses touching gently.   
  
“I suppose I’ll just have to let you have sex with me or something.”  
  
“Oh, no, no, no my darling,” Maura said, running her finger down Jane’s nose, over her lips to tap on her chin. “You don’t get off that easy. I think this calls for a shopping trip.”  
  
“Aww, Maur!”  
  
“A  _shoe_  shopping trip.”  
  
Jane looked up at her, using her best puppy-dog eyes.   
  
“I didn’t mean to be an idiot, sweetheart...it’s just...sometimes I can’t believe that someone as incredible as you would choose to be with someone like me. “ She flashed a lopsided grin up at the doctor.  
  
Maura shook her head, smiling back. “You’ve played that card one too many times, Jane Rizzoli,” she said. “I know that you’re more than secure in my love for you.”  
  
Jane’s hands crept up beneath Maura’s silky pyjama top. “Maybe I need some reassurance. It’s not every day that some strapping Australian turns up on the doorstep. Who is also a doctor. Who looks like he’d have good, hardy baby making genes.”  
  
Maura rolled her eyes, knowing fine well she was being played. She tilted her forehead against Jane’s, enjoying the swirl of long fingers over the bare skin of her back.   
  
“Ian does fit all the requirements for a potential mating partner. Tall. Strong. Good bone structure.”  
  
Jane’s hands stopped their progress and she pulled back slightly.  
  
“Really? You’re doing this  _now_?”  
  
Maura nodded, smiling wickedly. “Tall.” A hand ran up Jane’s spine. “Strong.” Fingers curled around Jane’s bicep, squeezing. “Good.” A kiss to Jane’s cheekbone. “Bone.” Her jaw. “Structure.” Her chin. She pulled back and tilted her head. “Sound like anyone you know?”  
  
Jane pretended to think. “Well, the ‘tall’ part rules  _you_  out, so...” She caught Maura’s wrist as she slapped at her shoulder. “I suppose you’re telling me that  _I_  am also a good potential mating partner. Which, ew, makes me sound like I’m a cow or a monke-.”  
  
“Jane!” Maura grabbed her face with both hands, cutting her off. “I don’t want big strapping Australian babies. I want loud, opinionated Italian babies with a distressing proclivity for listening to their intestines.”   
  
Jane looked for a moment like she might panic, but then her face relaxed into a genuine smile.  
  
“Oh yeah? Well, just make sure that my Ma doesn’t hear about these obnoxious Italian babies you’re planning to have for a little while, huh?”  
  
Maura smiled as Jane pulled her closer, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist as Maura’s arms went about her shoulders.  
  
“They wouldn’t be obnoxious, they would be well-mannered and polite.”  
  
“At the same time as being loud and opinionated?”  
  
“Yes,” Maura said, with a firm nod. “Even you manage to behave yourself when required.”  
  
“Sometimes.” Jane brushed a gentle kiss against Maura’s lips.  
  
“Most times.” Maura deepened the contact, pressing her torso against Jane’s as their tongues danced together.  
  
“So...am I forgiven for being an ass?” Jane murmured.  
  
“I suppose so,” Maura allowed, as Jane’s hand made its way past her waistband. “But we’re still going shoe shopping.”


	4. For love we'll give it a shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Jane have a talk.

Tommy shook his head as his older sister walked away from her decisive chess victory. He pushed his chair back from the table and stood. He needed to speak to Jane alone.  
  
“Hey, if I’m gonna fix this door tonight, I gotta get some stuff from the hardware store. “ He quirked his head at Jane. “Can you gimme a ride, Janie?”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes. “You can take my car. I just wanna veg out for a while.”  
  
“Go with your brother,” Angela told her. “The two of you don’t spend enough time together. Me and Maura will make some supper for the two of you coming back.”  
  
Tommy hid a grin. He could always rely on his mother to encourage sibling bonding time. Jane sighed.  
  
“Fine.” She said, standing up. She pointed at Maura. “But I better get dessert too.”  
  
Maura was still smiling from her discovery of Jane’s chess prowess and the smile grew. “I guarantee dessert.”   
  
Tommy noticed Maura slipping her credit card into Jane’s hand as she passed her, out of Angela’s sight. He stepped aside and let Jane walk out in front of him.   
  
Once they were settled in the car and on their way, Tommy cleared his throat.  
  
“So, I gotta ask this…” He turned to watch Jane’s face. “Do I got a shot or should I just give up?”  
  
Jane kept her eyes on the road, but it was clear that she hadn’t picked up on his meaning.  
  
“A shot at what?”  
  
Tommy took a breath. “A shot at Maura. ‘Cause you pretty much just blew me out of the water back there, sis. You might as well have pissed on her leg.”  
  
He wasn’t given a chance to continue because Jane swung the car violently to the right and slammed on the brakes. She turned to face him, a finger poking painfully into his chest.  
  
“Okay little brother, let’s get a few things straight.” He smirked at her choice of phrase but it faded when he saw the very genuine anger on her face. “Number one, Maura Isles is not the kind of woman you ‘take a shot’ at. Number two, even if she were, you wouldn’t stand a chance. Number three, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Number four….ew. Never say that again.”  
  
“Jesus, Jane, take a midol, huh?” He rubbed his chest where her finger had dug into his skin. “I was just askin’!”  
  
“Yeah, well….don’t. There’s plenty of girls out there for you to ‘take a shot’ at. Stay way from Maura.”  
  
She pulled back out into traffic. The car was silent for a few moments.  
  
“Why wouldn’t I stand a chance?”  
  
Tommy knew he would never be Maura’s choice as a husband. But she’d made it pretty clear that she thought he was cute. Of course, that was mostly when Jane wasn’t around. When Jane was around, Maura didn’t seem to notice that anyone else existed. Jane sighed.  
  
“Because, Tommy, you just wouldn’t. She’s…she’s from a different world. She’s classy. She likes fancy restaurants and designer clothes and ridiculous modern art…thingies.” Tommy was sure that Jane didn’t even realise that she had started to smile as she spoke about Maura. “You wouldn’t fit into her world. Just…just save yourself the heartache, Tom.”  
  
“We still talkin’ about me, Janie?” His voice was quiet, gentle.   
  
“We’re talking about people like us, Tommy. People like us and people like Maura…” She glanced over at him, quickly looking away when she saw the concerned expression he was wearing. “Just leave it alone.”  
  
“You know what we talked about? When we were up all night playin’ chess?” He hadn’t been planning to share this, but what the hell? “You. All frickin’ night, Janie. She thinks you’re the shit. You should see her face when she talks about you. She’s like a kid at Christmas.”  
  
She was shaking her head. “I said  _leave it_. It’s none of your business.”  
  
“Since when is family none of my business? Did I get that right revoked when I got thrown in the slammer?”  
  
“Don’t start this. Family is one thing, but my love life is another. Me and Maura are just fine as we are…”  
  
She pulled into the parking lot at the hardware store. Tommy took a chance. Jane sometimes needed to be pushed into action. He was willing to do the pushing.  
  
“Then I’m gonna ask her out.”  
  
He physically shrank back from the look she gave him.  
  
“Get out of the car.” Her voice was low and threatening. He’d heard it many times growing up and it still brought him out in goosebumps. She opened her door and he did the same, stepping out into the cool night air. He watched as she rounded the car towards him. She stood in front of him, a few inches shorter than him now, but no less intimidating than she’d been when they were kids.  
  
“Hit me.”  
  
That wasn’t what he’d expected.  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Hit me. Punch me in the gut.”  
  
“No way, Jane. What the hell?”  
  
“You wanna hurt me? Punch me. Kick me. Slap me.” She shook her head. “But don’t ask Maura out. It’d kill me.”  
  
He pulled her into his arms, relieved when she didn’t fight it.  
  
“You’re an idiot, Jane Rizzoli,” he murmured against her ear. “But for some reason, Maura thinks you walk on frickin’ water. So get your head out of your ass and do something about it before somebody who’s not quite as nice as me gets a hold of her, huh?”  
  
She spoke into his shoulder. “I’m not fancy.”  
  
“No shit.” She snorted and he smiled. “But she doesn’t want fancy. She wants you.”  
  
She lifted her head to look at him.  
  
“Could you imagine her coming with me to aunt Sofia’s New Years party?” she asked, sniffing.   
  
“Yeah, I could. She’d insult half the room without even trying, Nonna would love her and you’d have to handcuff Uncle Dino to keep him from pawing her.” He tickled her lightly. “And she’d love every minute of it, because she’d be with you.”  
  
She shook her head. “When did you turn into a matchmaker?”  
  
He grinned. “When I was forced to spend a whole night listening to a running commentary on your virtues. No guy should have to hear someone talk about his sister’s long femurs and toned gluteus maximus. That’s just wrong.”  
  
She slapped his arm. “Shut up.” The parking lot was plunged into darkness and they both turned at the same time to note that all the lights in the store had just been switched off. They turned back to face each other.  
  
“Guess I’m not fixin’ the door tonight?”  
  
\---  
  
Back at Maura’s, Tommy walked in behind Jane to the smell of their mother’s cooking. Angela looked up and frowned.  
  
“Where’s the stuff you were buying?”  
  
Jane shrugged. “Store was closed. We’ll do it tomorrow. Oooh, that looks good.”   
  
She wandered over to where Maura was stirring something. Tommy watched as Maura dipped her finger into the mixture and held it out to Jane, who took it into her mouth and sucked off the creamy substance, moaning deep in her throat as she did so. Maura smiled, using her thumb to swipe at some cream that had dripped onto Jane’s chin.  
  
“Hey Ma,” he said quietly. “What do you say we take ours to go, huh? I’m kinda beat.”  
  
“But…”  
  
He cleared his throat and tilted his head to where Jane and Maura were just staring at each other, smiling.  
  
“Oh…okay. Yeah, we can do that. I’m beat myself with all my travelling.” She quickly dished out the pasta she’d made and handed two bowls to Tommy for them to take into the guest house.  
  
“Supper’s ready girls,” Angela called out. “Hey, Jane. Maybe you should stay here tonight…so that Maura feels safer, what with her busted door and everything.”  
  
“Hmmm?” Jane finally looked over at her mother. “Yeah. That’s a good idea, Ma.”  
  
“I have them sometimes.” Angela was almost out the door, with Tommy trailing behind. “Goodnight!”  
  
“Night Janie,” Tommy said. “Night Maura..”  
  
“Goodnight Tommy.” It didn’t escape Tommy’s notice that Maura didn’t even glance in his direction.  
  
“Night little brother,” Jane called, and mouthed ‘thank you’. He nodded at her as he was backing out of the door so that he could use his foot to close it after him. He sighed as he made his way back to the guest house.   
  
Oh well, at least Frankie owed him fifty bucks.


	5. Guess who's coming to dinner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Related to the discussion in Chapter 2 about Maura and Angela talking about sex.

Angela Rizzoli was a perceptive woman. She knew when something was up; particularly with one of her children. And something was up now. Jane had barely glanced in her direction all during dinner and then had jumped at Maura’s suggestion that she go and pick up some cheesecake from their favourite restaurant for dessert. It seemed like she couldn’t bear to be in the same room as her own mother.  
  
In the past, Angela would have had to wait, and then push and prod until finally whichever errant child was having problems would finally open up and talk to her. But  _now_  she had something far better. She had a child whose girlfriend was incapable of lying.   
  
She watched in silence while Maura emptied the dishwasher, choosing her moment.  
  
“Maura, is Jane okay?”  
  
Maura looked over at Jane’s mother and frowned. “In what sense? She seemed physically fine when she left for the store a few moments ago, and I would say that her mental health is in a better place than it has been for a long ti-“  
  
Angela sensed that she was about to get a rundown of Jane’s vitals and cut in while she had the chance.  
  
“No, I mean, I know she’s  _okay_ …I just…you didn’t think she was acting kinda funny tonight?”  
  
Maura shook her head, going back to her task. “Not particularly. Jane is often humorous though, so perhaps I missed one of her jokes.”  
  
“No she,” Angela took a deep breath, her years as a mother meant she had almost boundless patience, but sometimes Maura pushed her to the limit. “She couldn’t look me in the eye…I just thought it was strange is all.”  
  
“Oh!” Maura exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in understanding. “I know why that is.”  
  
She went back to putting away the dishes. Angela watched and waited for a few moments. When nothing further was forthcoming, she spoke again.  
  
“Feel like sharing it with me?”  
  
Maura turned again, smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry, of course. I told her that you and I have, on occasion, spoken about sex.”  
  
Well, that explained the evasive behaviour. Angela laughed in relief. Jane would get over it. Eventually. And maybe she could even have a little fun with it in the meantime.  
  
“Wow. Now I get why she was acting how she was acting. She musta really chewed you out for that, huh?”  
  
Maura was completely confused. She looked at Angela closely, shaking her head.  
  
“Well, no. As I said, she wasn’t very happy about it so she didn’t deem it something worthy of rewarding with oral sex.”  
  
“Ora-…” Angela flushed a deep shade of red. “No!  _Chewed_  you out! Like, yelled at you! Not  _ate_  yo-….you know what? Maybe Janie’s right. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this any more…”  
  
“Oh, okay!” Maura chirped, unperturbed. “Jane would probably prefer that, yes.”  
  
Just then, Angela heard Jane’s car pull into the driveway.  
  
“You know, I’m actually kinda tired so I think I’ll head off to bed and let you two girls have some privacy.” She was already backing towards the door that led to the guesthouse.   
  
“Are you sure? You don’t have to go.” Maura called after her.  
  
“No, no, I’m sure. Keep me a piece of cheesecake and I’ll have it tomorrow.” And with that she was gone.  
  
“O…kay.” Maura said, her attention drawn to the other door, where Jane was making an entrance, noisily. She greeted her girlfriend with a wide smile and accepted a peck on the cheek.  
  
“Hey,” Jane said, matching Maura’s grin, her eyes flicking around the room. “Ma gone?”  
  
“Yes, she left quite abruptly.” Maura said, pouring wine into two glasses and removing the dessert Jane had brought in from its box.  
  
“Oh yeah?” Angela was not a person to skip out on dessert lightly. “She feelin’ okay?”  
  
“I think she was a little embarrassed,” Maura confided, slicing the cheesecake. “But, on the upside, she agrees with you that she and I shouldn’t discuss sex any more.” Maura turned with another bright smile and handed Jane one of the glasses of wine. Jane took it, looking at Maura her expression frozen in place.  
  
“Okay…do I want to know  _why_  she came to that decision?” Jane asked, raising both of her eyebrows.  
  
Maura shrugged. “I think I may have misunderstood an idiom she used, mistaking it for a description of cunnili-“  
  
“Okay!” Jane interrupted, holding up her glass and her free hand as if to physically stop Maura’s words. She flashed a huge, fake, smile. “I think that’s all I need to know. Thanks.”  
  
“You’re welcome,” Maura said, clinking her glass against Jane’s and taking a sip of her wine.


	6. Keeping abreast of the situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maura has a question for Jane following ep 2.13.

Maura had that look on her face; the one that Jane knew would lead to an uncomfortable conversation at some point in the very near future. For Jane, that is. Maura rarely found conversations uncomfortable. Right now, Maura had an adorable crease between her eyebrows and she was biting her lip. People less acquainted with the doctor might have assumed that she was concentrating on sewing up Debbie Tibbet’s Y incision. (As it turned out, seeing her dead was  _not_ as satisfying as Jane had imagined it might be in her younger days.) But Jane had seen Maura sew people up like a master tailor while discussing whether she was in the mood for Italian or Chinese that night for dinner. She knew that there was something else at work.  
  
“Maur?”  
  
“Hmmm?”  
  
“You wanna talk about it?”  
  
Snipping the thread she used to close the incision, Maura stood up straight and looked at Jane, her head tilted.  
  
“Whatever’s bothering you.”  
  
Unlike everybody else in the world ever, Maura Isles was not the kind of person to shrug off questions about her state of mind, or to say she was okay when she wasn’t. Maura sighed.  
  
“Do you think Emily’s breasts are more pleasant to look at than mine?”  
  
Jane had learned to expect things to come out of left field where Maura was concerned. She had even joked about it being lucky that she was left-handed. But she hadn’t expected  _that_. Not for the first time, her vocabulary deserted her in the face of Maura’s bluntness.  
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Emily’s breasts. You’ve mentioned them a number of times since we attended your reunion, and you did stare at them quite openly while she was wearing that dress.”  
  
“Sta-…I did  _not_  sta-…” Maura was giving her that skeptical, ‘your face isn’t displaying symmetry right now, detective’ look, so Jane changed tact. “Hey, if I stared it was only because she had them hangin’ out for the world to see…like she has done since she sprouted them when we were twelve.”  
  
“So you  _did_  look?” Maura pressed.  
  
“I…you looked too!” Jane crossed her arms over her chest, pulling herself to her full height and staring Maura down across the table. “And I did not  _stare_. I  _glanced_. A couple of times.”  
  
“And?” Maura’s hands were on her hips now.  
  
“And what?” Jane yelled, completely lost now.  
  
“Are they more aesthetically pleasing than mine?”  
  
Jane’s eyes dipped to Maura’s chest, realizing her mistake a second too late.  
  
“Well, if you have to  _look_  before you answer…” Maura turned away, tidying her equipment. Jane sighed heavily and rounded the autopsy table, standing behind Maura.  
  
“I wasn’t looking to make a comparison, you’re wearing scrubs for Christ’s sake. I just looked because we were talking about boobs!”  
  
“Uh…” Both of their heads swiveled to see Frost in the doorway. “I’ll uh…come back when you’ve finished your…conversation.”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes at his retreating back. The  _least_  he could’ve done was tell her she was urgently needed upstairs to get her out of the hole she was digging for herself.  
  
“Maura, your breasts are the only breasts I want to look at.” Well,  _that_  made her sound like a horny teenager. But the smile on Maura’s face as she turned back around indicated that maybe she didn’t mind.  
  
“Really?”  
  
Jane nodded, reluctant to upset the delicate situation again. Maura placed a hand over her heart.  
  
“Oh Jane, that’s so sweet.”  
  
Allowing herself a lopsided grin, Jane popped a hip and pulled Maura against her in a loose hug.  
  
“Babe, any time you want me to tell you how much I love your boobs, you just let me know, okay? I could write poetry about them…I could talk about them all night.”  
  
“Which would be a nice change from you speaking  _to_  them all night.”  
  
“Hey!” Jane protested, pinching Maura’s side and earning a kiss of apology.  
  
“I’m sorry. I guess…I don’t know, seeing you with your “former BFF” maybe just…unsettled me a little. I know that I have no reason to be insecure about my body.”  
  
Jane barked a laugh at Maura’s lack of modesty. “No reason at all, sweetie.”  
  
“I don’t know why I even asked you about her breasts. My muscle tone is clearly superior and I have significantly less sagging.”  
  
Jane closed her eyes and shook her head. “Who knew that Dr Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner, just likes to hear she has nice tits, sometimes?”  
  
She felt Maura tense up and pull away from her slightly. Jane dared to open her eyes and saw that Maura’s mouth was hanging open indignantly.  
  
“’ _Nice_ ’? The only adjective you can think of to describe my breasts is ‘ _nice_ ’?”  
  
 _Oh, brother._


	7. Song for whoever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maura's never been much of a writer

Maura’s never been much of a writer.  Oh, she can turn out an academic paper or journal article with the best of them.  But those are full of facts and figures.  She is not required to talk about how she feels or use imagery or literary constructs.  But Jane.  Oh, Jane. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Jane has a way with the written word.  Maura wonders if it’s because she is sometimes ‘creative’ with the language she uses in her police reports. When they were ‘just friends’, Jane would send her funny e-mails to make her laugh when she was frustrated on a case, or silly texts to coax a smile out of her after bad date.  She’d had to google the combinations of punctuation marks that littered those e-mails and texts.  She is now proficient in emoticons and abbreviations and is pleased when she uses one that Jane hasn’t heard of. 

Since embarking on their romantic relationship, Jane’s literary pursuits have only increased in frequency and fervour.  Maura now routinely finds post-it notes on her fridge door with declarations of love, or silly rhymes or drawings of hearts on them.  She receives cards in the intra-office mail with limericks in them that make her blush.  She once found an envelope in her underwear drawer, which held a single piece of paper.  On it, in Jane’s untidy scrawl, were some of the most beautiful sentiments Maura had ever read.  Everything Jane felt about her, captured in cheap blue ink and recorded on BPD headed notepaper.  It was perfect.

Her attempts to reciprocate are somewhat less flowery and generally quite to the point.  She’s not bad at the basics.   _‘I love you’_  and  _‘You’re beautiful’_  flow naturally from her pen or her fingers. Those things are not in question.  But when it comes to similes and metaphors, Maura is lost.  Jane had once caught her extracting strands of hair from a hairbrush. Due to her damned inability to lie, it hadn’t take Jane long to find out her intentions for those strands of hair.  She had planned to analyse them to determine the exact shade; to ensure that any comparisons she may draw to Jane’s hair would be both accurate and effective.  Well, to say that Jane found it hilarious would be an understatement.  Maura had been embarrassed until Jane had kissed her reddened cheeks and told her not to worry ; that every time Maura looked at her, she could read poetry in her eyes.  Of course, that had just made Maura more determined to write something worthy of her feelings for Jane.

She’d never been much of a letter writer.  Even as a child at school, her letters home had been mostly filled with descriptions of activities or lessons, with very few words dedicated to her feelings about being in a foreign country alone.  Most of her past lovers hadn’t lasted long enough to warrant a love letter.  With Ian she remembers sitting down and attempting to write love letters, fancying herself as a Byron or a Hemingway.  In reality, she ended up writing accounts of the latest procedures she’d carried out, or seeking his opinion on a new medical technique she’d read about.  She could manage the ‘letter’ part, but the ‘love’ always eluded her.  She’s determined to find it.  For Jane.

With a fountain pen and monogrammed writing paper, she sits at her desk and thinks about how Jane makes her feel.  It frustrates her, to know so very definitely that she loves this woman beyond what she thought possible, and yet be unable to quantify it.

Words feel clunky and inadequate in the face of the warmth that spreads out in her chest whenever Jane smiles at her, or the sensation that shoots through her every time Jane touches her.  How is it possible to document something that changes every second of every day?  

Romantic literature tends to focus on the heart as the source of love, but Maura finds it difficult to associate a lump of myogenic muscular tissue with the pure joy she feels just from being in Jane’s presence.  She knows that her feelings, as indescribable as they may be, come from one place and one place only, and that it belongs to Jane.  So she writes the most romantic thing she can think of.

_I love you with all of my brain._


	8. A truth universally acknowledged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A follow up to episode 3.08

Their laughter died away into a warm silence.  Jane watched Maura close her eyes, the corners of her mouth still turned up in a smile. 

“So...how come we’re talking trains and cakes and Red Sox jerseys?”  Maura’s brow creased and she turned her head to look at Jane, bringing Jane’s attention to exactly how close they were lying to each other. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, not so long ago you were telling me you didn’t think marriage was for you.  Now you’re insisting on telling me every little detail about your dream wedding.”  She poked Maura’s side playfully.  “What gives, Dr Isles?”

Maura’s eyes returned to the ceiling and she shrugged; the rise and fall of her shoulders moving the mattress a little.

“Just because I don’t envision ever getting married, doesn’t mean I haven’t imagined what it might be like to choose a gown or a cake.”

The earlier levity was gone from Maura’s voice.  She sounded flat.  She sounded sad.  Jane regretted asking.  She moved her hand the scant distance between them and rubbed Maura’s forearm.  Maura seemed to startle at the contact, turning to meet Jane’s eyes again.

“Why are you so sure you’ll never get married?”

Hazel eyes dipped to where their skin was touching.  Another shrug.

“People don’t want to marry me.”

The statement was so matter-of-fact that Jane laughed.  She knew it was the wrong reaction when Maura’s arm was gently extracted from her gentle hold.  The other woman turned onto her side, ostensibly to reach her wine glass.  But she stayed that way, her back to Jane, for too long for that to be the reason.  Jane pressed her lips together and reached out, putting a hand on Maura’s hip.

“I’m sorry, Maur.  I’m not laughing at you.”

“Yes you are.”

Her voice was low and thick and Jane felt a corresponding lump appear in her throat.  She squeezed Maura’s hip.

“I’m not.  It’s just so ridiculous that you think nobody would want to marry you.  You’re a beautiful, caring, intelligent  _doctor_.  You’re pretty much the whole package, Maur.  There are probably a gajillion people who would want to marry you.”

Maura slowly lay back down.  Jane’s hand eased from Maura’s hip to rest on her belly, feeling like she shouldn’t break the contact between them at that moment.  Maura smiled at her.

“That’s sweet of you to say, Jane, but it’s not accurate.”

“Mau-“

“No, I understand what you mean.  By society’s usual standards, I should be a ‘catch’, yes?  The type of woman that people want to take home to their parents and settle down with?”

Jane’s forehead creased, but she nodded.

“Jeez, my Ma’d have a fit if I...I mean, if Frankie or Tommy ever brought home someone like you.  She’d be on the phone bragging to Carla Talucci before you even got through the door.”

A half-hearted smile was all she got before Maura grew serious again.

“In all the time you’ve known me, Jane, have I ever had a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks?”

Jane thought back, her thumb unconsciously stroking Maura’s abdomen as she did so.  She shook her head.

“Well...no, but tha-“

“No.”  Maura’s hand came to cover Jane’s, stilling her movements and gently squeezing her fingers.  “When I said that I don’t think I’ll ever get married, it wasn’t some whimsical statement about being a liberated, independent woman.  I doubt I’ll ever get married based on the evidence.”  She shrugged again, offering Jane a sad smile.  “People leave me.”

This time there was no laughter on Jane’s lips; just a tremor as she realised that Maura was serious.  And that it was true.  Paddy Doyle made damn sure she never knew a thing about her birth parents or why they’d given her up.  Her own parents had barely acknowledged her existence when she was growing up; happy to let her go off to foreign boarding schools and colleges where the other kids thought she was weird and boring.  Her fancy pants fiancé had left her to go to Italy to make fake cashmere sweaters.  The ‘love of her life’ had chosen the depths of Africa over her.  Nobody ever chose Maura.  Nobody ever stayed with Maura.

“Maura...I...”  She had no idea what to say.  Maura saved her.

“I’m not looking for pity or sympathy, Jane.”  She laced their fingers together, still resting on her belly.  “It’s fine.  I understand.”

“Well I don’t!” Jane surprised them both with the vehemence in her words.  Maura raised her eyebrows, a smile tugging at one side of her mouth as she recognised Jane’s fierce protectiveness. 

“Jane...”

“No, Maura, don’t sit there an-“

“I’m lying down.”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes, but continued unperturbed.  “Don’t  _lie_  there and expect me to agree that you are somehow unmarriable.”

“That’s not a word.”  
  
“It is now.”  Jane huffed and shook her head.  “You are  _amazing_ , Maura.   That stuff I said about you being beautiful and smart doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what you are.”

Maura had now turned fully onto her side facing Jane; their joined hands lying on the mattress between them.

“And what am I, Jane?” Not quite a whisper.

“You...”  Jane faltered.  This had to be  _right_.  She pulled Maura’s hand towards her, pressing it against her chest.  “You are the  _best_  person I know. You don’t judge people.  You  _give_.  You listen.  You care.”  Jane could feel her voice breaking.  “I am a better person because of you.  You make my life better.  You make me happier.  You make me laugh.  You make me care about myself.  When I go out there and do crazy things, it’s because I want to make the world safer for you.   You are funny and goofy and ridiculous and a know-all and I love that about you.”  A tear was trickling down Maura’s cheek.  “You know what?  Anyone who can’t see all of that doesn’t deserve to have you in their life.  Anyone who can walk away from you is an idiot.  And I know from firsthand experience that not having you around leaves a huge Maura-shaped hole in a person’s heart.”  She swallowed hard.  “And I don’t want that to ever happen again.  So I, for one, will not be leaving you.”  Her unusual emotional verbosity and Maura’s silent reaction to it gave her the courage to continue.  “And I’d marry you in a damn heartbeat if you’d have me.”

They both stopped breathing at the same moment.  Maura blinked.

“I’m not sure that would work, Jane.”

Despite feeling like she’d been stabbed in the chest with a blunt, rusted knife, Jane somehow managed a smile.

“No...I...was...I just...”  She couldn’t bring herself to say she was kidding.  A gentle finger covered her lips.

“I mean, for starters, where are we going to find a Red Sox Jersey with a 20 foot train?”

Jane looked up to meet Maura’s eyes; wet with tears but twinkling with mischief.

“You gotta be...You choose  _now_  to develop a sense of humour?   _Now_?  When I’m baring my soul?”

Maura tilted her head.  “Would it help, by way of an apology, if I were to offer to kiss you?”

Jane’s mouth snapped shut.  “I...that, uh...that might he-“  She wasn’t allowed to finish before Maura’s lips pressed against her own.  She’d never, ever, felt comfortable kissing new people.  Maura didn’t feel like a new person.  Maura felt like home.  She pulled away far too soon and Jane twisted a hand into her hair to keep her close.

“Was I sorry enough?” Maura’s words were warm against her lips.  The slightly lower than usual timbre to her voice made Jane tingle in some interesting places.  Without warning, she rolled over so that she was lying on top of Maura, one hand under her back and one still tangled in her hair.  Both of Maura’s hands crept up beneath her tank top, cool against the skin of her back.

“No, not sorry enough.  I need a much longer apology.”  She leaned down and brushed her lips over the pliant ones below, over and over until they were both breathless and flushed.  She pushed herself up onto her elbows, hovering over Maura who was looking up at her with bright eyes.  Maura swallowed.

“Well, you did bare your soul to me.  Perhaps I could bare something in return?  If you’d like...”

Jane’s eyes immediately dropped to Maura’s chest, heaving against her own, and then back up.

“Really?”  Jane’s voice resembled that of a thirteen year old boy.

Easing a hand between them, Maura undid the first button on her shirt.  She had barely loosened the second, when the door to Jane’s apartment burst open.

“Jane?  I brought some you some leftovers from the caf-oh my _God!_ What are you  _doing_?“

At the sound of Angela’s voice, both Jane and Maura froze in place, unsure of what to do.  Jane, knowing there was no way out of the situation, took a deep breath and rolled off of Maura, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment as Maura deftly buttoned her shirt back up.  Jane scrambled to her feet and folded her arms.

“Ever hear of knocking, Ma?”

Angela’s righteous indignation died immediately.  She put a hand over her heart, raising her eye to the heavens.

“Oh thank you Jesus!  It’s Maura.”  She turned to Jane with a wide grin.  “I thought you had some slut in here!”

“Ma!” Jane barked, her eyes darting back and forward between her mother and Maura.  Angela smacked her on the back of her head.

“Don’t ‘Ma’ me, Jane Rizzoli!  Maura’s a classy lady.”  She waved a hand at the wine bottle and glasses.  “You shouldn’t be getting her drunk and ravishing her on a mattress on your living room floor!  Take her out and buy her dinner!  Treat her right!”

Maura was now on her feet too, and placed a gentle hand on Angela’s arm.

“Angela, I appreciate your concern, but I believe I started the ravishment.”

“Maura!” Jane yelped.  “Don’t tell her that!”  She pointed at her mother.  “And you!  That’s all you have to say?  ‘ _Oh, yay, it’s Maura’_?   No fire and brimstone and sin?”

Angela turned to Maura and rolled her eyes.  “You see the things she thinks about her mother?  Like I’d disown her over something like this?”

Amused at the exchange, Maura held Jane’s eyes as she replied.  “I’m sure Jane just doesn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Disappoint me?”  Angela threw her arms up in the air and barrelled towards Jane, grabbing her face with both hands and pulling her down so they were at eye level.  “You could  _never_  disappoint me.  You got that?  All I want is for you to be happy and healthy.  You keep messing up the ‘healthy’ part, but now I know you finally got your head out of your ass and fixed the ‘happy’ part.”  She kissed Jane on both cheeks.  “And who could ever be disappointed in their kid dating Maura?  She’s perfect.”

Jane looked over at Maura, who was blushing and sniffling.  She held out a hand.  “C’mere.”  Maura gladly joined the embrace, accepting her own cheek kisses from Angela.

They stood like that for a little while, before Angela squeezed them tightly and released them, stepping back and wiping at her eyes.  .

“Now, I see I interrupted something here tonight so I’m gonna leave you to it and then ask you tomorrow why you haven’t told me about this before.”  Angela’s brow creased in thought.  “Is this why Giovanni said you liked boobs now?”

Jane’s eyebrows went up.  “Uh...”

Shaking her head, Angela moved away from the couple.  “Never mind, you can tell me tomorrow.”  She winked at Maura.  “I won’t wait up for you tonight.”

Maura turned her face into Jane’s shoulder, smiling softly.  Jane ground her teeth and offered her mother a wide, fake smile.  
  
“Well, as lovely as it was to have you barge in on our  _first kiss_ , we have a lot to talk about ourselves.  So...” She pointed at the door.  “If you wouldn’t mind...?”

“Your first ki-...”  She trailed off, incredulous.  “You mean it took you  _this long_  to make a move?”

Jane drew breath to make a retort, but Angela held up both hands.  “Tell me tomorrow.”  She whipped out her cellphone.  “Tell me everything tomorrow.”  She kissed each woman on the cheek and then pressed a button on the phone.  “Carla?  Guess who’s dating a doctor.  No, wait...guess who’s dating the Chief Medical Examiner for the whole of the Eastern Seaboard?”

Maura held up a finger, calling after Angela.

“Actually Angela I’m only Chief of Mass-“

“Shhhh, leave her be.”  Jane pulled Maura into her arms as Angela closed the door, still talking animatedly to her friend.  “By tomorrow you’ll be Chief Medical Examiner of the United States.  By next week, the world.”

Maura let herself be cuddled.  “It’s nice...to be bragged about.”  Jane smiled into her hair.

“Give it a month, maybe two.  You’ll be as frustrated by her as the rest of us.”  Maura tipped her head back, dislodging Jane’s chin, so she could look up at her.

“Will we be here in a month?  Maybe two?”

Looking at the mattress on the floor and the abandoned wine glasses, Jane shook her head.  “No.”  Before Maura’s face had a chance to fall, she continued.  “In a month we’ll be at a nice restaurant.  And in two months I’ll be taking you dancing.  And in six months, I’ll let you drag me to an opera or a ballet or something.  And in a year I-“

And hand over her mouth stopped her.  Maura’s eyes were shining, her voice shaking.

“And in a year, maybe we’ll go to Fenway Park.”

Jane’s throat thickened.  She fitted her hands around Maura’s hips, as Maura’s hands linked behind her neck.  She leaned down, stopping just short of Maura’s lips to whisper.

“Well, I  _do_  like Hazelnut Almond.”


End file.
